Edelweiss
The Edelweiss is a medium tank and the main tank of Squad 7. Originally fielded by General Gunther and piloted by Theimer, it was launched once more at the start of EWII by Welkin Gunther and Isara Gunther, the children of General Gunther and Theimer, respectively. Information Designed and constructed by Isara's late father, Theimer, this tank's 360-degree rotating turret, fully automated loading system and other innovations completely revolutionized tank technology. Built to be operated by two, Welkin mans the guns and issues commands to Isara who is in control of both the wheel and wireless radio. Despite its age, it was among the first to use angled plating and other emergent concepts, yielding high performance from an early test stage. Its high cost was all that precluded its mass production. 'Crew' After being assigned to Squad 7, it was driven and maintained by Isara as a mobile command platform for Welkin. Five months into the war care of the tank was given to Kreis Czherny, who drove it for the remainder. In the anime, it was Zaka who drove and became the mechanic of the Edelweiss instead of Kreis. 'Technical Description' The Edelweiss is a single turreted design, possessing an 8.8cm gun of 40 calibres length for its main armament that is capable of defeating virtually any Imperial tank at standard combat ranges as well as effectively engaging infantry and fortifications, and a coaxially mounted 12.7mm (0.50 inch) heavy machine gun for use against un-armoured and lightly armoured targets. It is equipped with an automatic loading system for the main gun. There are two hatches on the turret, one on top as part of the cupola for the commander and another at the rear of the turret for loading ammunition, disposal of used shell cartridges and as an escape route. Frontal armour protection is expected to be great for its thickness with the rounded glacis and the vehicle likely enjoys decent all around protection. There is room enough for a dedicated driver and dedicated wireless operator. It has been modified to waterproof the entire unit for submerged fording. The engine is not the original with which the tank was outfitted and it is currently equipped with and 800 horsepower (597kW) Ragnoline turbine engine which may have been designed for small naval patrol boats and fast attack craft. A pair of drive sprockets at the front of the tank propel each tread and there are six road wheels on each side. Its suspension is unknown, but is most likely torsion bar given the layout. A similar suspension layout is used by comparable post-war Gallian tanks that equip the Loyalist and GRA forces. While it may enjoy unparalleled speed the unit may suffer mobility issues with its weight versus the width of its treads on softer ground. While being designed for operation by two it appears as though the Edelweiss is capable of more efficient operation by three as indicated by the hatch to the starboard of the pilot’s hatch and quite likely a fourth to act as gunner (based on Chapter 7 4-C) and free the commander up to direct the crew. Given the advanced technology and concepts of the tank it is possible Theimer and other engineers designed the vehicle expecting that it would be simplified for mass production, but show what Gallia was capable of building at a later date when improved and cost effective technology became readily available. Such simplifications and expectations could include a bow mounted machine gun and using a standard 7.92mm machine gun in the co-axial mount, deletion of the automatic loading system and replacement by a fifth crew member, simplified armour layout, and equipping the chassis with different and lighter standard main armaments while retaining the same turret ring for heavier armament if necessary. Stats 'Base stats' *Body HP - *Tread HP - 650 *Accuracy - 6 *Body Def - *Tread Def - 100 *AP - 350 *Upgrade grid - 4 x 3 'Max stats' *Body HP - *Tread HP - 1050 (1250 if final upgrade is Reinforced Armour) *Accuracy - 6 *Body Def - *Tread Def - 200 (250 if final upgrade is Reinforced Armour) *AP - 450 *Upgrade grid - 5 x 4 'Numbers' *Length- 6.64m *Height- 2.65m *Width- 3.43m *Weight- 32t *Top Speed- 60km/h *Engine Power- 800hp (597kW) at 2800rpm *Power/Weight 25hp/t 'Armament' *Theimer 40/88mm KwK cannon *Theimer 12.7mm tank machine gun *Mortar Rounds *ISARA Smoke Rounds Upgrades 'Level II' 'Stats' *Length-? *Width-? *Height-? *Weight-? *Top Speed-? *Engine Power-? 'Armament' *Theimer 40/88mm KwK Cannon *Theimer 12.7mm machine gun 'Level III' *'Level III Barrel': The tank seems to trade the 8.8cm gun for a larger 10.5cm gun (or possibly a short 12.8cm gun, as a gun of similar size and caliber is confirmed in the VC2 artbook), possibly adapted from an artillery carriage. The turret visibly changes to accommodate the heavier gun, becoming longer and wider. In spite of being shorter than the regular 8.8cm, the larger caliber weapon increases the effective range of the cannon, possibly indicating the use of HEAT instead of solid rounds. *'Level III Body': Akin to late model tanks in the German "Panzer" series, particularly the King Tiger, the Edelweiss gains side skirts that prevent hits from hitting the treads of the tank (from a gameplay standpoint, this instead means that the hit now strikes the body). In spite of the effect it seems to have on the machine's ability to shrug off more fire, no changes to the actual hull of the tank take place. *'Level III Turret': Strangely, this seems to remove prior modifications, such as the 'armor' placed on the tank's barrel, as well as some of the added-on armor on the tank's turret. In this state, the Edelweiss quite heavily resembles the King Tiger tank. It is possible an internal or less obvious modification takes place, such as heavier armor being welded onto the tank, or a possible early version of Explosive Reactive Armor, meaning that the extra armor is removed to lighten the tank. 'Stats' *Length-? *Width-? *Height-? *Weight-? *Top Speed-? *Engine Power-? Trivia *The pictured Eidelweiss has the running gear of a Panzer III, and seems to have a turret inspired by the American M41 Walker Bulldog with the spare track holders and escape hatch of a King Tiger; the gun mounting is an exaggerated version of the T-55's, with a similar searchlight mounting to the right. The hull has the spare track holder of a Panzer IV, and a driver's vision block seemingly inspired by the Tiger I. The headlamps are based on the Bosch headlights of the Tigers; it has two on the front-upper hull like an early production Tiger, but also one in the middle of the glacis plate like a King Tiger. *Edelweiss' interior is based on that of a King Tiger; this is why it's shown with a steering wheel in the anime series. While tanks are usually steered with twin accelerator pedals or levers, the King Tiger had a single accelerator pedal and a wheel attached directly to the differential. *More exactly, the interior, seen behind Isara and Kreis when they speak, appears to be directly based on Trumpeter's 1:16 scale King Tiger kit; this includes the kit's infamous straight ammunition racks. *In the second last cutscene of the second Barious chapter, Welkin gives the order to fire while standing out of the cupola. This implies that either Isara is manning the gun (as the tank is stationary) or there is an unknown third crew member. It would certainly be unusual for a tank of the era to have a crew of just two; typical examples had crews of four or five (driver, gunner, loader, radio operator and commander) and the Edelweiss has a third hatch at the radio operator's position. *The Edelweiss' name is German, and more correct rendered as "Edelweiß;" it means noble white. The name comes from a white flower which can be found in Alps; it's the subject of a famous song in The Sound of Music. Adolf Hitler was known to say it was his favourite flower, and it was the symbol of the Gebirgsjäger (mountain infantry), as well has having being the symbol of Alpine infantry in general since 1907. More fittingly for Gallia, it's also regarded as the unofficial national flower of Switzerland. Incidentally, the flower belongs to the genus Leontopodium which means "Lion's Foot" or "Lion's Paw" the name it goes by in Gallia, however, the Gallian Lion's Paw seems to grow at much lower altitudes than the real Edelweiss; Alicia finds the "Lion's Paw" growing on the ground, while Edelweiss typically only grows above the treeline of mountains, on rocks at altitudes of 6,500-9,500 feet. *The Edelweiss will always appear in its stock form during any cutscene regardless of upgrades, not counting the few seconds in which Welkin says "Move Out!" immediately before a mission. *Edelweiss Appears as a Room Decoration in Phantasy Star Portable 2. *The Edelweiss can be used in at least mission in VCIII and it has health stats similar to heavy tank bodys of the time. Category:Squad 7 Category:Vehicles Category:Tanks